to hate the word ladies

[wakemeupnow]

That's it really...

YANBU I can't stand it

Well, whenever I have had small children nearly run into me, because they're not looking where they're going and I hear the parent say "Mind that woman" it always sounds a bit rude, where "Mind that lady" doesn't.
AIBU?

by way of explanation , it makes me think of mature women like the queen.
It kind of sounds patronising too, like it's polite but actually kind of condescending....

Yabu. Doesnt bother me

Or maybe its that it's too posh. Ladies are by definition are expected to be ladylike...
I just hate it when an Op says hello ladies...

It's better than 'girls' (to describe grown women). Even worse is 'young girls'. A 'young girl' is a child of about 8, not a woman in her 30s. Grrrr!!

I agree girls is pretty awful too, it's like a put down disguised as a compliment...

What would you prefer/suggest? (genuine question, not being goady)

I too hate it when I get a group email amonst friends that begins, Ladies....

YANBU.

Being referred to as the grown woman you are shouldn't be an insult.

Depends entirely on the context. Smarmy patronising bloke yuck! Female colleague being friendly fine. I bridled when a colleague I don't know well said "Come in and sit down young lady". He is over 10 years younger than me and only slightly more senior. I'm over 50.

In another context I'm learning a song that has the word lady in it twice. I'm desparately trying to work out how to pronounce it so I don't sound like David Walliams. (It's a lovely song otherwise.)

Good question Happy .... " women" has a bit of a lefty sisterhood feel to it, or can sometimes be used in a kind of dismissive way...

Maybe there isn't a decent word for us....Or maybe i'm just bored and hormonal and looking for things to be annoyed at

I agree that it does depend on the context in which it is used. For eg I would be happy for my mates to refer to 'us girls' yet it's like nails down a blackboard if I hear it in the workplace. A bit hippocritical?

'Woman' can sound derogatory if said in the wrong way. But it shouldn't really.

'Guys' sounds a bit like we're off an australian soap.

bachsingingmum: Walliams has ruined the word 'layyydeeeee'

What are we left with?! . .

Definitely a context/tone issue. As bachsingingmum says, a smarmy/creepy man saying it? Yuk! My DH popping his head around the door when I have female friends over and saying 'good evening ladies' before making a hasty retreat? Fine.

'Hey pretty lady/lovely lady' is a jokey greeting between a few friends of mine. Definite context issue. YABU to hate a word.

I died a bit inside the first time someone called me a lady. Now they do it all the time

Years ago my union promoted a list of approved words. Some worked better than others such as police officer instead of policeman/woman and PC for every constable, not WPC.

I don't like Firefighter because it sounds like a superhero to me, but I'll go along with it. The union conveniently ignored Postman, probably because Postie sounds like you're in Neighbours.

I think it really changed the way people think of jobs and I think women in those jobs liked it, certainly no one ever objected.

But personal forms of address are different. Some women were really offended by being called woman/women, they wanted to be called ladies - still do. Seeing as a big part of the job was about getting on with people I just went with what they wanted.

However, we'd always refer to them in writing as women. Sometimes ladies complained about that.

I quite like it. I hate being called a girl.

I like it and use it, so do my children. There are worse things in life you can be referred to as.

YANBU
A man is a man so why isnt a woman a woman? Why do people teach their kids to say 'lady' when referring to a woman? I make a point of saying woman to my sons and that is the word they use, no problem

Ffs! On MN You can't call people ladies, or girls, or Miss X in case they are a Mrs, or Ms, or mate, or love, definitely not hun. What the hell can you call people?

I work in a pub, I get called countless pet names and I don't mind. I call people love. Shoot me.

Sorry, that came out more ranty than I intended.

Mostly people try to be polite, except for the man I deal with who always refers to me and my female business partner as Ladies, as in Now, ladies, and Dear Ladies instead of Limited and FemaleBusinessPartner.

One day he sent a pompous email addressed to Dear Ladies and I forwarded it to a friend who knows him with one word: cunt.

Only I pressed reply . He's never mentioned it.

I'm going to start saying 'person' or 'human' as in "next human, please" when there's a queue. Or is that discriminating against animals that may be waiting to be served? Hmm.

Arf @limitedperiodonly

I don't mind “say excuse me to that lady” or whatever when talking to kids. Cringe when I get texts like “hi ladies let's all go out” or “me and the girls are going out”. Don't know why, just hate it.